Centennial Campaign brings in more than $162 million

Feb. 27, 2004

KALAMAZOO--Exceeding its original campaign goal by $37.8 million,
Western Michigan University closed the books on its Centennial
Campaign with more than $162 million raised.

"Private support is critical to the University's continued
progress," says WMU President Judith I. Bailey. "Contributions
made through the Centennial Campaign are already giving us a
competitive edge, supporting academic excellence and helping
countless individual students fulfill their educational goals
and pursue their dreams. Campaign gifts are funding initiatives
that will position our University for even greater accomplishments
and service in its second century.

"We are deeply grateful to the nearly 50,000 alumni and
friends of the University who contributed to this record-setting
campaign. It is clear that the future of our University will
be shaped increasingly by private support, through the generosity
of those who know us best."

Officially begun July 1, 1998, "Partnering for Success:
the Centennial Campaign for Western Michigan University"
surpassed its original goal of $125 million in May 2003. Fund
raising continued through Dec. 31, as originally planned, and
campaign chair William U. Parfet called on donors to use the
remaining months of the campaign to put WMU "over the top
in dramatic fashion." Donors responded with more than $37
million in additional gifts and commitments.

In the final month of WMU's campaign, December 2003, the University
received more than $15.8 million in gifts and commitments. That
one-month total is more than double the $7.3 million raised in
all three years of the University's first comprehensive campaign,
just 22 years ago.

"There are several reasons for the campaign's success,"
says Parfet. "Western has touched so many lives in so many
positive ways. Wherever I travel, I meet people with ties to
this area or the University, and they always talk in glowing
terms about Western. Those warm feelings have increasingly translated
into generous gifts--especially during the past decade and especially
among alumni.

"Credit for the increased support goes to the campaign
volunteers and development staff, who have done an extraordinary
job of explaining the vital role of private support at WMU. A
tremendous amount of credit also goes to the WMU Foundation,
which has built donor confidence through sound fiscal management
and prudent stewardship of funds. Donors understand and have
confidence that their gifts will be invested wisely and used
for the purposes they intended.

"And foremost among the reasons for the campaign's success
is the University's leadership, which has provided a vision for
the future that is worthy of support and has guided WMU to growing
stature and success."

Parfet, who is chairman and chief executive officer of MPI
Research, has chaired both of the University's past two campaigns.
The previous campaign concluded in 1992 and raised $62.5 million.

Centennial Campaign highlights were reported by Bud Bender,
WMU vice president for development, at the Feb. 27 meeting of
the WMU Board of Trustees. Among the results reported by Bender
were:

WMU's Centennial Campaign raised $162,844,123.

The campaign exceeded the original goal by $37.8 million or
30 percent.

A total of 49,972 donors contributed to the campaign.

There were 47 gifts of $1 million or more, accounting for
$98.4 million or 60 percent of the total raised.

There were 780 gifts of $10,000 or more, for a total of $149.2
million. Less than 2 percent of the donors contributed more than
91 percent of the campaign total.

The largest gift to the campaign and largest in WMU history
was $12.6 million from the estate of alumna Gwen Frostic.

A total of 149 new endowments were created, adding $38 million
to the University's endowments.

There were 31 new Medallion Scholarships funded.

Support for the general academic mission accounted for 93
percent of all gifts.
The remaining 7 percent, or $11.3 million, was designated for
varsity athletics.

Contributions were received from all 50 U.S. states, Guam,
Puerto Rico and the
U.S. Virgin Islands, and from 17 other countries around the globe.

There have been fund drives for specific projects at WMU dating
back to shortly after the school was founded in 1903. There have
been, however, only three comprehensive capital campaigns--covering
broad areas of the University. All three have been in the past
25 years at intervals of approximately 10 years. It is unlikely
the University will wait 10 years to launch its next major campaign,
according to Bender, who also serves as executive director of
the WMU Foundation.

"Greater success breeds greater expectations. That is
true in almost every endeavor, but it is especially true in fund
raising," says Bender. "We have had remarkable success
in building the level of private support during the 27 years
of the WMU Foundation, and there is a justifiable expectation
of even greater support in the years ahead.

"Even before the erosion of state support, it was obvious
that we would need to begin our next major campaign sooner rather
than later. President Bailey and the trustees are committed to
several initiatives vital to our mission and to continuing to
elevate the quality of the experience and education offered at
WMU. We are very confident that our alumni and friends will respond
favorably--as they did in this campaign--to a university that
is committed to the pursuit of excellence."